July 17, 2007: Lazio - Stuttgart 1-1, Friendly
- Dag Jenkins
- Jul 17, 2025
- 8 min read
Lazio hold German Champions
Despite inferior fitness levels Lazio play out positive friendly against Bundesliga winners
The season so far
Lazio finished an excellent 3rd the previous season under Delio Rossi, despite a three-point handicap due to Calciopoli, and qualified for a Champions League preliminary. Lazio's best result was thrashing Roma 3-0. Top scorer was Tommaso Rocchi with 19 goals (16 in league).
This season Rossi was still in his place. The main changes to the squad were in goal as Angelo Peruzzi had retired. The choice was Juan Pablo Carrizo but due to bureaucratic problems it was unlikely he would arrive. This meant Lazio were more than likely going to have to look for another keeper for the time being. Other signings were defenders Aleksandar Kolarov (OFK Belgrade), Lionel Scaloni (Racing Santander), midfielders Simone Del Nero (Brescia), Mourad Meghni (Bologna) and. Considering Lazio would hopefully play Champions League football the fans were not particularly happy with the situation.
Lazio had obviously lost some players too: keeper Matteo Sereni (Torino), midfielders Pasquale Foggia (Cagliari-on loan), Luís Jimenez (Ternana-end of loan). Defender Manuel Belleri and Simone Inzaghi were rumoured to be going out on loan soon too.
The fans were disappointed and thought Lazio had not taken advantage of the Champions League opportunity to strengthen the squad.
Lazio would play the Champions League preliminary round against Dinamo Bucharest on August 14 in Rome and on August 28 in the Romanian capital. The league would start in between, on August 25, at home to Torino.
This was Lazio's third pre-season friendly and first competitive one. They had so far beaten SV Thal 4-0 and Kapfenberg 2-0. The Biancocelesti had already suffered their first injury as defender Sebastiano Siviglia had hurt his knee and would be out for about three months.
Stuttgart were German champions. They had won their fifth Bundesliga title but not the double as they lost 2-3 to Nürnberg in the DFB-Pokal final. The manager was Armin Veh and top scorer Cacau with 18 goals (only in the Bundes it was Mario Gómez with 14). The squad included future Lazio player Thomas Hitzlsperger and future Real Madrid and Juventus Sami Khedira.
This season Veh was still manager. The main new players were: goalkeeper Raphael Schäfer (Nürnberg), midfielders Yildiray Baştürk (Hertha Berlin) and forward Ciprian Marica (Shakhtar Donetsk).
Leaving were: goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand (Valencia), defenders Markus Babbel (retiring and becoming assistant manager), Heiko Gerber (Ingolstadt 04) and midfielder Daniel Bierofka (Monaco 1860).
The German league would start on August 10, at home to Schalke 04, while their Champions League adventure would commence on September 19, away to Rangers Glasgow.
Their first match of the season would be on July 25 in the DFL-Ligapokal (League Cup) semi-final against Bayern Munich at home and then on August 4 in the DFB Pokal (German cup) away to Wehen Wiesbaden.
So, a prestigious friendly today between two top European sides.
The match: Tuesday, July 17, 2007, Franz Fekete Stadion, Kapfenberg
There were about 2,000 spectators in the small Kapfenberg ground.
Lazio had been training in Austria for 10 days and the Germans for longer.
Lazio were missing injured Sebastiano Siviglia and Mourad Meghni while Stuttgart were without Matthieu Delpierre, Sami Khedira, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Pável Pardo, Ciprian Marica and Yildiray Basturk.
Lazio were not as fit, but started strongly. In the 8th minute they took the lead. Lionel Scaloni was the assist man and Stefano Mauri the scorer as he wrong footed the keeper with a low shot with the inside of his foot.
Lazio continued to play well with fast and precise passes and continuous movements. Their lack of training however started to show after about twenty minutes and they slowed down.
In the 26th minute the Germans equalised with Swede Alexander Farnerud. The Bundesliga side were then on top but Lazio held their own and reached halftime level. Lazio 1 Stuttgart 1.
For the second half "Die Schwaben" replaced Fernando Meira with Pischorn.
In the 54th minute Lazio replaced the whole team! All eleven players went off and fresh ones came on.
The Germans kept more or less the same block on the field and "only" made three more substitutions; Mandjeck for Gledson and Arthur Boka for Ludovic Magnin in the 60th minute and Manuel Fisher for Mario Gomez in the 68th.
The Germans were only a week away from their first competitive game and were trying out their main line-up currently available.
In the second half the Germans attacked more and controlled the game but reserve keeper Tommaso Berni was not overly busy. Lazio were well organised and defended efficiently.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw. A useful friendly for both sides against quality opposition. A positive draw for Lazio against German champions who had predictably shown to be a lot fitter than the Romans.
Lazio's summer friendlies would continue with games against West Ham United, Southampton, Arsenal (Amsterdam Cup), Atletico Madrid (Amsterdam Cup) and Panathinaikos plus some minor clubs.
Who played for Lazio
Ballotta (54' Berni), Scaloni (54' De Silvestri), Cribari (54' Belleri), Stendardo (54' Diakité), Zauri (54' Kolarov), Behrami (54' Mudingayi), Ledesma (54' Baronio), Mutarelli (54' Firmani), Mauri (54' Manfredini), Pandev (54' Inzaghi), Rocchi (54' Del Nero)
Manager: Rossi
Who played for Stuttgart
Shäfer, Hilbert, Meira (46' Pischorn), Gledson (60' Mandjeck), Magnin (60' Boka), Meissner, Cacau, Gentner, Farnerud, Da Silva, Gomez (68' Fischer)
Substitutes: Stolz
Manager: Veh
Referee: Mesner (Austria)
Goals: 8' Mauri, 26' Farnerud
What happened next
Carrizo predictably did not arrive until the following year and so for this season the choice fell on a young Uruguayan, Fernando Muslera from Nacional Montevideo. The only other signing was Fabio Vignaroli (Bari). A prime example of lack of ambition by Lotito which would repeat itself time and time again over the years. In the winter session he brought in defenders Stefan Radu (Dinamo Bucharest) and David Rozenhal (Newcastle United), midfielder Ousmane Dabo (Manchester City) and striker Rolando Bianchi but it was too little too late.
Lazio finished 12th in Serie A. The Biancocelesti won 11, drew 13 and lost 14. The highlight was winning the derby 3-2 with a 92nd minute Behrami winner. Top scorers were Goran Pandev and Tommaso Rocchi with 19 goals (both 14 in A).
Lazio were successful in getting into the Champions League as they defeated Dinamo Bucharest 4-2 on aggregate. They were then eliminated after 1 win (Werder Bremen 2-1 at home), 2 draws (Olympiakos 1-1 away and Real Madrid 2-2 at home)) and 3 defeats (Werder Bremen 1-2 and Real Madrid 1-3 away and Olympiakos 1-2 at home).
In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti reached the semi-finals but were beaten 0-2 on aggregate by Inter. Lazio had previously beaten Napoli 3-2 and Fiorentina 4-2, both on aggregate.
Stuttgart finished 6th in the Bundesliga. Top scorer was Mario Gómez with 28 goals (19 in the league).
In the Champions League they went out in the first group phase after only 1 win (Rangers 3-2 at home) and 5 defeats (Rangers 1-2, Olympique Lyonnais 2-4 and Barcelona 1-3 away and the French and the Catalans both 0-2 at home).
In the DFB-Pokal they were eliminated in the quarter finals by Carl Zeiss Jena on penalties.
A disappointing season for "Die Roten" after the triumphant previous one.
The Serie A was won by Inter, the Bundesliga by Bayern Munich and the Champions League by Manchester United.
Let’s talk about Davide Faraoni
Marco Davide Faraoni, known as Davide, was born in Bracciano (Rome) on October 25, 1991.
At the age of six he started playing in the Bracciano youth sector but a year later moved to Lazio until 2010. In the 2009-10 season he was part of the first team squad but in September broke his ACL and was out for the season. He then joined the Inter academy until 2011.
In 2011 he was added to the Inter first team squad under Gian Piero Gasperini, Claudio Ranieri and then Andrea Stramaccioni. He played 14 league games with 1 goal (Parma), 1 game in Coppa Italia and 2 in the Champions League. Inter finished 6th (EL). At youth level he won the Scudetto that year and the Viareggio tournament the previous year.
In 2012-13 signed for Udinese in the deal that took Samir Handanovic to Inter. The manager was Francesco Guidolin and the Friulani finished 5th in A (EL). Faraoni played 11 league games and 6 in the Europa League.
In 2013-14 he went on loan to Watford, owned by Udinese boss Giampaolo Pozzo. The Hornets were in the Championship and finished 13th, first under Italian Gianfranco Zola and then Giuseppe Sannino. Faraoni played 38 league games with 2 goals and 5 in the domestic cups with 2 goals.
In 2014-15 he was back in Udine but only until January when he joined Perugia in Serie B on loan. The manager was Andrea Camplone and Faraoni played 15 league games with 1 goal (Frosinone). One of his teammates was a young Ivan Provedel. The Umbri finished 6th and lost 1-2 to Pescara in the playoffs.
In 2015-16 he spent a season at Novara on loan in Serie B. He played 35 league games under future Lazio manager Marco Baroni and the Biancoazzurri finished 8th.
In 2016-17 he was back at Udinese in Serie A. The manager was first Giuseppe Iachini and then Luigi Delneri and the Bianconeri finished 13th. Faraoni played 5 league games and again suffered from various injuries.
In 2017 he signed for Crotone in Serie A. The managers were first Davide Nicola and then Walter Zenga and the Calabresi were relegated. Faraoni played regularly making 28 league appearances with 2 goals (Torino, Udinese) and 2 in Coppa Italia. He then stayed on in Serie B but left in January after 15 league appearances and 1 goal (Foggia) and 2 games in Coppa Italia, under former Lazio Giovanni Stroppa and then Massimo Oddo.
In January 2018 he joined Verona in Serie B. He stayed the rest of the season, winning promotion and then four and a half years in Serie A. He played 158 games with 20 goals (Brescia x2, Pescara, Cagliari, Roma, Milan, Fiorentina, SPAL, Genoa, Benevento, Bologna, Napoli, Roma, Spezia, Napoli, Milan, Sampdoria, Milan, Spezia) and 5 games in Coppa Italia. His managers were Fabio Grosso and Alfredo Aglietti (promotion year), then Ivan Juric (for two seasons), Eusebio Di Francesco very briefly then Igor Tudor, Gabriele Cioffi, Salvatore Bocchetti and Marco Zaffaroni (all in one year) and Marco Baroni. His teammates included Lazio connections: Mattia Zaccagni, Matteo Cancellieri, Tijjani Noslin and Reda Belayane. After promotion the Gialloblu finished 9th, 10th, 9th, 17th (won relegation playoff vs Spezia) and 13th.
In his last season in this stint at Verona he left in January and joined Fiorentina on loan. In Florence, under Vincenzo Italiano, he played 8 league games, 1 in the Italian Supercoppa (lost in semis to Napoli) and 2 in the Conference League (lost in final to Olympiakos).
In 2024-25 he went back to Verona under Paolo Zanetti. He played 8 league games and the Scaligeri finished 14th.
Faraoni has represented Italy at all the various age groups but never won a full Italian cap. He played 5 times for the U16s, 11 for the U17s, 5 for the U18s, 6 for the U19s, 1 for the U20s and 7 for the U21s.
Faraoni is a right full-back. He is good both at defending and attacking and often uses his physicality to push forward. He has scored 27 goals in Serie A confirming his offensive talent.
At Lazio he was a prospect as a lad. He was being groomed to be a long term regular but his serious injury changed his destiny. A pity as he is a local boy (his family had a pizzeria in Pisciarelli-Bracciano near Rome).
He has had a decent career albeit hindered by injuries. Alongside players such as Giampiero Pinzi, Marco Di Vaio and Daniele Franceschini he is considered one of the Laziali who got away and could have given Lazio a lot.
Sources
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